The 10 Best Cities For Singles In Illinois For 2024


The best cities for singles in Illinois are Urbana and Dekalb for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Are you looking for love in Illinois?

Or are you just hoping to hook up with a hot Illinoisan?

Either way, we’ve got you covered here.

If you live in Illinois, there’s a pretty good chance there are a lot of singles in your area. The Prairie State has plenty of people over 18 who aren’t married or in a serious relationship.

That’s great news for people who are single and looking to mingle.

So, where are the best cities for singles in Illinois? We used Saturday Night Science to find out.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Best Cities For Singles In Illinois For 2024

  1. Urbana
  2. DeKalb
  3. Chicago
  4. Chicago Ridge
  5. Glendale Heights
  6. Champaign
  7. Evanston
  8. Blue Island
  9. Rock Island
  10. Cicero

Best Cities For Singles In Illinois Map

So, what was the best city for singles in Illinois? Urbana ranks as the best place for singles in Illinois if you care about things singles care about, like nightlife, affordable housing, and other singles.

Read below to see how we crunched the numbers and how each city ranked. If you live in or are close to one of these cities and are single, you should probably get out more often.

Just saying.

For more Illinois reading, check out:

The 10 Best Cities For Singles In Illinois For 2024

Urbana, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 38,741
Median Age: 25.5
Married households: 12.0%
Households with kids: 14.1%
More on Urbana: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Dekalb, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 40,697
Median Age: 24.9
Married households: 16.0%
Households with kids: 25.3%
More on Dekalb: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Chicago, IL

Source: Flickr User ::RodrixParedes:: | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 2,721,914
Median Age: 35.3
Married households: 14.0%
Households with kids: 24.7%
More on Chicago: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Review Of Chicago by HomeSnacks User

Chicago is a wonderful city. There is so much diversity and culture. The atmosphere was ablaze with an electric energy. Everyone was incredibly friendly.

There are so many good places to eat! Especially restaurants that cater to the vegetarian

Chicago Ridge, IL

Source: Flickr User digitalbookmobile | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 14,284
Median Age: 35.3
Married households: 22.0%
Households with kids: 26.9%
More on Chicago Ridge: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 33,088
Median Age: 35.0
Married households: 15.0%
Households with kids: 33.6%
More on Glendale Heights: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Champaign, IL

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 88,628
Median Age: 27.0
Married households: 15.0%
Households with kids: 21.8%
More on Champaign: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Review Of Champaign by HomeSnacks User

Crime is getting worse by the day as many gangs from Chicago are moving into the area. Schools are not too bad but do not like the fact they use the city bus to transport children to school. It’s a college student town so population varies throughout the year.

Going go some of the college sporting events was neat. Not a whole lot to do outside of that. Winters are brutal with nasty winds.

Evanston, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 77,181
Median Age: 37.6
Married households: 14.0%
Households with kids: 24.2%
More on Evanston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Blue Island, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Burnhamandroot | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 22,934
Median Age: 36.6
Married households: 15.0%
Households with kids: 30.0%
More on Blue Island: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Rock Island, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 37,264
Median Age: 35.0
Married households: 20.0%
Households with kids: 25.2%
More on Rock Island: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Cicero, IL

Source: Wikipedia User MrHarman | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 84,189
Median Age: 33.4
Married households: 9.0%
Households with kids: 43.0%
More on Cicero: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How do you determine which city is best for singles in Illinois anyways?

To give you the places in Illinois which are best for singles to find one another, we used Saturday Night Science to look at a handful of metrics. Of course, we want to measure the type of people who live in each city and make some assumptions about what single people like.

So we researched the internet for a database that contains all that information.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the 2018-2022 American Community Survey Census data produced for the state of Illinois, we looked at every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:

  • Population density
  • % of population that’s male vs. female (closer to a 50-50 ratio is better)
  • % of households with kids
  • Median age
  • Number of unmarried people in each city

We then gave each city a “Singles Score.”

The higher the score, the better the city is for singles to find one another. We also limited our results to cities with over 10,000 people. For Illinois, that meant a total of 218 cities.

We updated this article for 2024. This is our tenth time ranking the best cities for singles in Illinois.

Read on to see why Urbana is the talk of the town while Campton Hills is probably a bit on the bland side.

Summary: The Best Cities for Singles in Illinois for 2024

If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in Illinois ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for finding a single person (and potentially love), this is an accurate list.

The best cities for singles in Illinois are Urbana, DeKalb, Chicago, Chicago Ridge, Glendale Heights, Champaign, Evanston, Blue Island, Rock Island, and Cicero.

Here’s a look at the most boring cities in Illinois according to the data:

  1. Campton Hills
  2. Frankfort
  3. Morton

For more Illinois reading, check out:

Best Cities For Singles In Illinois

Rank City Population Median Age % Married Households % Households /w Kids
1 Urbana, IL 38,741 25.5 12.0% 14.1%
2 Dekalb, IL 40,697 24.9 16.0% 25.3%
3 Chicago, IL 2,721,914 35.3 14.0% 24.7%
4 Chicago Ridge, IL 14,284 35.3 22.0% 26.9%
5 Glendale Heights, IL 33,088 35.0 15.0% 33.6%
6 Champaign, IL 88,628 27.0 15.0% 21.8%
7 Evanston, IL 77,181 37.6 14.0% 24.2%
8 Blue Island, IL 22,934 36.6 15.0% 30.0%
9 Rock Island, IL 37,264 35.0 20.0% 25.2%
10 Cicero, IL 84,189 33.4 9.0% 43.0%
11 Waukegan, IL 89,435 34.5 11.0% 35.3%
12 Summit, IL 11,036 37.1 10.0% 36.4%
13 Wheeling, IL 38,823 39.7 12.0% 26.3%
14 Maywood, IL 23,385 37.0 17.0% 33.8%
15 Dolton, IL 21,283 39.1 18.0% 27.5%
16 Carbondale, IL 22,039 24.8 9.0% 14.1%
17 Charleston, IL 17,795 29.4 26.0% 17.2%
18 Bloomington, IL 78,788 35.9 27.0% 27.6%
19 Aurora, IL 181,405 35.4 18.0% 43.3%
20 Franklin Park, IL 18,374 36.5 17.0% 38.6%
21 Worth, IL 10,859 39.1 29.0% 29.6%
22 Midlothian, IL 14,200 39.0 31.0% 29.6%
23 Carpentersville, IL 37,834 32.8 17.0% 46.5%
24 Woodridge, IL 34,027 37.7 27.0% 29.6%
25 Streamwood, IL 39,556 39.0 20.0% 32.9%
26 Skokie, IL 67,076 43.0 16.0% 31.8%
27 Melrose Park, IL 25,177 34.5 13.0% 41.8%
28 Harvey, IL 20,035 35.5 15.0% 32.6%
29 Berwyn, IL 56,556 36.3 17.0% 38.4%
30 Normal, IL 52,920 25.2 22.0% 24.1%
31 Zion, IL 24,570 32.3 17.0% 35.9%
32 Mundelein, IL 31,583 38.2 24.0% 31.0%
33 Wheaton, IL 53,673 37.4 27.0% 29.9%
34 Palos Hills, IL 18,278 42.2 21.0% 25.9%
35 Niles, IL 30,637 47.1 16.0% 28.8%
36 Mount Prospect, IL 56,191 41.2 26.0% 31.0%
37 Justice, IL 12,525 31.1 18.0% 34.6%
38 Burbank, IL 29,122 37.6 21.0% 35.7%
39 Hanover Park, IL 37,222 34.7 17.0% 42.1%
40 Schaumburg, IL 77,571 39.0 22.0% 30.4%
41 Prospect Heights, IL 15,861 41.1 23.0% 28.8%
42 Carol Stream, IL 39,656 39.4 25.0% 32.1%
43 Villa Park, IL 22,753 36.1 31.0% 35.2%
44 Rolling Meadows, IL 24,054 38.2 23.0% 32.4%
45 Forest Park, IL 14,165 42.2 18.0% 17.6%
46 Lyons, IL 10,687 39.7 23.0% 30.2%
47 Rockford, IL 148,173 37.5 21.0% 28.4%
48 Northlake, IL 12,683 39.5 15.0% 29.4%
49 Jacksonville, IL 17,639 37.8 30.0% 22.0%
50 Macomb, IL 15,207 27.4 18.0% 20.8%
51 Peoria, IL 113,054 35.6 23.0% 25.6%
52 North Chicago, IL 30,890 23.5 6.0% 33.9%
53 Addison, IL 35,685 40.1 20.0% 31.5%
54 Palatine, IL 67,223 39.4 24.0% 29.6%
55 Bensenville, IL 18,673 37.0 22.0% 32.0%
56 Elmwood Park, IL 24,281 40.5 21.0% 29.1%
57 River Grove, IL 10,532 34.2 23.0% 34.3%
58 Moline, IL 42,452 38.8 28.0% 28.6%
59 Hickory Hills, IL 14,915 36.4 21.0% 35.1%
60 Danville, IL 29,100 38.6 22.0% 29.4%
61 Belvidere, IL 25,389 39.1 21.0% 31.3%
62 Lisle, IL 23,499 36.7 26.0% 25.2%
63 Lincoln, IL 13,371 40.4 32.0% 22.7%
64 Warrenville, IL 13,945 38.5 26.0% 29.0%
65 Elgin, IL 114,190 35.5 20.0% 38.0%
66 Norridge, IL 15,291 47.2 19.0% 24.9%
67 Schiller Park, IL 11,600 38.0 18.0% 29.8%
68 Streator, IL 12,279 39.5 33.0% 25.0%
69 Hoffman Estates, IL 51,744 38.1 24.0% 37.0%
70 Joliet, IL 150,221 34.3 27.0% 41.8%
71 Bridgeview, IL 16,939 39.2 18.0% 28.4%
72 Riverdale, IL 10,528 32.8 18.0% 36.0%
73 Plano, IL 11,113 34.6 25.0% 32.6%
74 Oak Lawn, IL 57,665 41.1 30.0% 28.9%
75 Oak Park, IL 53,834 40.3 22.0% 28.6%
76 Kankakee, IL 24,795 36.3 20.0% 31.1%
77 Lombard, IL 44,055 37.7 31.0% 29.3%
78 Bellwood, IL 18,611 36.5 21.0% 35.1%
79 Romeoville, IL 40,132 35.1 24.0% 41.3%
80 Vernon Hills, IL 26,750 40.6 19.0% 37.7%
81 Des Plaines, IL 60,087 42.5 22.0% 29.2%
82 Round Lake Beach, IL 27,229 33.2 18.0% 45.4%
83 Chicago Heights, IL 27,366 35.8 16.0% 35.6%
84 Park Forest, IL 21,042 37.4 20.0% 31.4%
85 Morton Grove, IL 24,910 44.6 22.0% 32.8%
86 Naperville, IL 149,089 39.5 24.0% 38.0%
87 Arlington Heights, IL 76,794 42.8 31.0% 29.0%
88 Lansing, IL 28,713 40.7 22.0% 31.2%
89 Fairview Heights, IL 16,360 40.0 20.0% 25.4%
90 Westmont, IL 24,271 40.6 24.0% 25.8%
91 Pekin, IL 32,075 41.2 31.0% 25.2%
92 Bolingbrook, IL 73,755 37.9 24.0% 38.2%
93 Hazel Crest, IL 13,737 33.0 16.0% 41.8%
94 Bradley, IL 15,379 36.0 30.0% 30.0%
95 Rantoul, IL 12,544 35.8 18.0% 28.5%
96 Beach Park, IL 13,995 35.6 20.0% 38.0%
97 Tinley Park, IL 55,571 41.6 39.0% 28.0%
98 West Chicago, IL 25,632 35.8 20.0% 42.8%
99 Markham, IL 11,592 33.2 15.0% 37.0%
100 Bourbonnais, IL 18,125 33.9 28.0% 30.3%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.